There can be a disparity between who one is and who one wants to be. This contradiction can slowly eat away one’s inner self and drive one to the brink of madness. We are told stories that define us from the outside in, what it means to be virtuous and successful, and the inner self can get smashed into oblivion in the process. Eco has managed to climb the corporate ladder to the top, but there still seems to be this emptiness inside him, just like in the people who surround him. He can’t deny his connection to nature anymore and finds himself in a fantasy of purity, beauty, and calmness of the Mother Earth. He must find a way to the present moment in order to find happiness again.
